Rookies stepping up for Adrian College women's hockey

At the start of the season, the Adrian College women’s hockey team looked like a team in a semi-rebuilding mode.

All-American goaltender Brittany Zeches had just graduated and was being replaced by two freshman goaltenders, Brooke Gibson and Jade Walsh. Several other freshmen would have to take on significant roles.

The incoming freshmen have been a pleasant surprise and stepped into the big shoes they had to fill. NCAA Division III No. 10-ranked Adrian (16-3-0, 9-3-0 NCHA) is in a tie at the top of the conference standings. As the team heads into this critical weekend, facing off against conference opponents St. Scholastica and Finlandia, the team has a 10-game win streak.

Head coach Chad Davis credits his veteran players for helping the freshmen to adapt to the faster collegiate game.

Between eight and 10 freshmen are in Adrian’s lineup every game, and it has been a seamless transition, according to Davis.

The game against St. Scholastica today at 7 p.m. at Arrington Ice Arena is going to have a playoff atmosphere about it. Both Adrian and St. Scholastica are tied for the NCHA lead with 18 points, Adrian holding the tiebreaker with the better in-conference record (9-3-0 to Scholastica’s 8-2-2). A win for either side would push the team a step closer to the NCHA regular-season title, and the Bulldogs are looking to take that step.

Adrian has one of the most prolific scorers in the country, Kelsey Kusch, who currently is tied for the most points in the league with 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists), but Coach Davis knows to take that step past St. Scholastica and beyond, the freshmen will have to play at the top of their game.

So far this season, that has not been a problem. Freshman Kristin Lewicki has 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists), placing her third in points on the Bulldog roster and tied for sixth among NCHA players. Kaylyn Schroka and Sarah Shureb have stepped it up of late, scoring goals at the most critical of times.

“We expected our freshmen to contribute right away,” said Davis, “We knew we would be utilizing the freshman in key situations. Lewicki has been a top scoring forward for us thus far this season. She plays special teams and a ton of minutes for us, and on the point Lexie Tzafaroglou has been tremendous, playing a very reliable game. The freshman group as a whole has helped with our success this season.”

Of course, the elephant in the room at the start of the season was the goaltending, but both Adrian freshmen netminders have filled Zeches’ big skates and done so very well. Jade Walsh is 11-2 this season, the most wins in the NCHA, with a goals-against average of 1.90, second-best in the NCHA. Brooke Gibson has proven more than capable in relief this season, having a 1.63 GAA and a 5-1 record in 7 games.

Adrian has a very strong team, and Davis thinks that this team can contend for the national title.

“We are focused on positioning ourselves for a bye and capturing home ice advantage for playoffs,” says Davis. “We feel if we are playing at our top of our game we will be a tough team to beat. We know it's going to be a battle. Beyond that, the national championship is up for grabs. I think we have the toughest conference in the country, which means the NCHA champion will be prepared for the national stage.”